


Twenty Bucks

by National_Nobody



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But Tim is here too just because, Fluff, Jason is here and not dead, M/M, Post Season 1, Sprinkling of Snaibsel (Artemis/Zatanna), Squint for Jay/Tim, Team Bonding, Team Year 2, This is probably more like a G rating than a T tbh, dorks being dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 21:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9204800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/National_Nobody/pseuds/National_Nobody
Summary: The Team gathers for a beach day and some much needed relaxation. Dick and Artemis lovingly torment Wally with an embarrassing picture of him. Wally navigates his budding feelings for his best friend, nervous that the feeling isn't mutual. Artemis thinks he and Dick are idiots and need to get on with it already. Movie night cuteness ensues.





	1. Beach Day Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to CasualThursday and potooyoutoo for being lovely editors and laughing at my dumb jokes.
> 
> This is my first time posting a fic, hope you enjoy!

It was a rare day off in late May, cloudless and warm, when the sun shone insistently through the blinds, nudging Wally awake. He blinked a couple times, glancing at the clock. Only 9:30am? Well, probably for the best that he hadn’t slept in too late. He yawned, rolling onto his back, and stretched his arms up high before tucking them behind his head. It had been a while since he’d had absolutely no obligations whatsoever for a day and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself.

He rolled out of bed, yanking a shirt over his head, and heard his phone buzz on the bedside table. Zipping over to it, he saw the name and groaned. “This better not be a business message, Kal,” Wally muttered to himself, frowning and opening the Senior Team group chat.

 _KALDUR: I am thinking of sending the kids to the beach for some team bonding while Miss M and I do some belated spring-cleaning in the Cave._  
_KALDUR: Feel free to join in._  
_CONNOR: Walking Wolf. Will help when I get back._  
_ARTEMIS: yeahh as fun as cleaning and babysitting sounds, I think I’ll pass._  
_NW: Seconded, but will swing by at some point to pick up Rob & JT._  
_MEGAN: Just throwing this out there, I made popsicles!_  
_MEGAN: As in, dozens of them. Freezer is full!_  
_MEGAN: And they’re raspberry and lemonade flavor. Just saying!_  
_KALDUR: I can testify that they are quite delicious._  
_ARTEMIS: …kay fine. maybe I’ll stop in for a while around lunch._  
_CONNOR: Better save me some. Way too hot out._

Wally sighed with relief and chuckled to himself. No world saving on the agenda after all then. He typed back quickly, grinning. It had been ages since they last had a beach day all together.

 _WALL-MAN: Beach and free food? Uh, hell yes! I’m SO DOWN!!_  
_NW: All right, that does sound pretty asterous. Will prob drop in at 11._  
_MEGAN: ...Roy?_  
_RED ARROW: No._  
_KALDUR: Are you sure?_  
_RED ARROW: Yes._  
_KALDUR: It has been a while since we’ve seen you._  
_RED ARROW: …_  
_KALDUR: It would be nice to have help clearing out the weapons room._  
_RED ARROW: Maybe._  
_MEGAN: Ha, perfect! See you all soon. <3_

Wally rifled through his closet, tossing on swim trunks and wading through the tangle of assorted objects on the floor, pulling out his beach gear. Maybe his room was due for some spring-cleaning soon too, he considered, brow furrowing in frustration as he tried to find his stash of sunscreen. He knew he always had some, considering he burned way too easily regardless of the season. He sorted through the mass of junk at super speed, organizing everything into piles. Still nothing. He sighed, walking to the other side of the room and poking his head out the door.

“Hey, Artemis” Wally called, “Did you unpack my sunscreen?”

“I think so?” she called back from the kitchen.

“Where’d you put it all?”

“I don’t remember, Wal. Somewhere.” She gestured vaguely, stirring her coffee.

“Oh, thanks. Have I mentioned lately how helpful you are?”

He could practically hear her roll her eyes. “Whatever Kid Mess, do I look like your mom? Find it yourself.”

They were both still getting used to the new apartment they’d decided to rent together after they’d both chosen to head off to Stanford in the fall, and not having a lot of free time to unpack meant a lot of their things had been scattered haphazardly around with no real organization. Artemis often grumbled that it was a miracle they could ever find anything. He was starting to agree.

He walked out into the kitchen and started rummaging through the cabinets. “Aha!” he exclaimed, pulling out a box of Cheerios and a small bin filled with an assortment of sun creams. “Behind the cereal? Really?” He laughed.

“Uh, oops?” Artemis shrugged sheepishly, smiling.

“We really have to fix this organizational disaster at some point.” Wally said, gesturing at the whole apartment.

“Ugh,” Artemis groaned. “No thanks. Think I’ll just bribe M‘gann to do it for us if she’s on a cleaning binge, since we’re clearly a hopeless cause.”

“Speak for yourself,” Wally smirked, flicking her ponytail and sitting opposite her. Hey jabbed his thumb to his chest smugly. “I just organized my closet in thirty-seconds flat.”

“Fine then, even better. Do it all yourself without my help.” She smirked back, aiming a kick at him under the table. He dodged, pushing her foot away, and poured himself some breakfast. Besides the mess, it surprised them both how generally easy living together had turned out to be so far. He’d been a bit skeptical when she first asked, figuring the easy friendship they’d settled into would disappear in an instant if they tried to live in the same space. But Artemis didn’t like getting used to new people, and she really hadn’t wanted to deal with a random roommate who might ask too many questions, and _Come ON, Wally, wouldn’t it be better to live on our own instead? Please?_ Eventually, he’d relented.

“So,” Artemis said, smirk deepening as she leaned her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them. Wally knew that tone of voice.

“I already don’t like wherever this is going,” he muttered, slicing a banana over his cereal.

“Nightwing texted me something interesting last night,” she said, ignoring him. Wally raised an eyebrow. “Apparently,” she stated deviously, “he was walking through Central City the other day, and passed by that new weird chain restaurant that’s been cropping up—what was it called? Taco ‘Bout It?” Wally froze. “He was getting a little peckish so he decided to, you know, pop in and scope it out.” Wally cursed inwardly, already felt the blush creeping onto his cheeks. “And you would not believe how _fascinating_ the employee’s uniforms are there. In fact, he sent me a picture—"

“Give me that!” Wally snatched Artemis’ phone out of her hand before she could blink. He was going to punch Dick. Actually, totally murder him. Artemis snickered as he deleted all evidence of the incriminating photo from her phone. “The only reason I won’t kill you for this is because that’d mean paying double the rent, which would mean working there for double the hours, which would probably be worse than whatever hell I send you to.”

She snickered harder. “What’s the matter Wall-man? I think it’s a good look for you,” she said, snatching her phone back. “In fact I might just get it framed. We can even use it on our first Christmas card.”

Wally groaned. “I don’t care where you hid it on your laptop,” jabbing a finger in her direction. “I _will_ find it and I _will_ destroy it. And then bird-boy is _so_ dead.”

“Right, as if you’d ever even ruffle his feathers,” she teased.

“Don’t underestimate an angry speedster, Crock. The second I get to the Cave, I’m grabbing a popsicle and shoving it right up his—"

The doorbell rang. Wally turned toward it confused. “You invited someone over? Before ten?”

“Just because you’re not a morning person doesn’t mean we all make our plans for after one” she rolled her eyes. “Besides, it’s just Zatanna, it’s not like you have to pretty yourself up.” She said, walking to the door.

Wally merely grumbled into his breakfast in response, speed-eating the rest as Artemis let Zatanna in.

“Morning grumpster,” Zatanna teased, mussing his hair. “What’s got you so sour-faced?”

Artemis flashed a wicked grin behind her. Wally shot her a look. _Don’t even think about it._ She opened her mouth to speak, but Wally cut her off with a dramatic sigh. Two could play at this game. “Honestly it’s way too embarrassing to tell you, but,” he looked at Zatanna imploringly, “I found this strange notebook the other day while unpacking our stuff, and I just can’t figure out what the symbols on it mean,” Artemis’ face scrunched in confusion.

“A puzzle the great _Wally West_ can’t figure out?” Zatanna gasped in mock-horror. “That’s pretty serious.”

“Tell me about it.” Wally said, shrugging emphatically. “But maybe you can help me out. The symbols wrapped all around the edge of the cover, and most of them seemed to somewhat resemble the letter Z, but a few look sort of heart shaped—“ he said, glancing casually over at Artemis, whose eyes went wide with understanding. She shook her head, panicked, probably mentally screaming _“Don’t you dare!”_ He smiled innocently, getting up and wrapping an arm around Zatanna’s waist, leading her toward Artemis’ room. “But it’d probably be better if I just showed you. In fact I think I last saw it in a pile of Artemis’ stuff.”

Artemis scooted in front of them, blocking the way, and looking about ready to put an arrow through Wally’s smug expression. “Weren’t you just saying you had to go meet Nightwing at the beach?” She said through gritted teeth. “Like, _now?_ ”

Wally tried hard to swallow his laugh. “Right” he said, smacking his temple with his hand. “Hello, Wally! Nearly forgot it’s operation ‘Team Beach Day.’ Can’t let the newbies start without me. You should come hang out with us later too, Zatanna.”

Zatanna smiled regretfully. “Can’t, unfortunately. I only have a few hours before I need to report in. After all, _some_ of us have to keep protecting the earth while you kids are off playing,” she jabbed his chest teasingly. “Give Nightwing my best though,” she said, winking and pecking Wally on the lips. Wally laughed.

“I’ll do my best to pass that message on exactly, babe.” He said, glancing over at a still-blushing Artemis, who was trying quite pointedly not to look jealous.

“Well, I’ll save you a popsicle, Artemis” He told her, chuckling to himself as he heard her snarl “You can shove that popsicle up _your_ ass” under her breath as he grabbed his stuff and sped away.

_Recognize: Kid Flash, B03._

Wally stepped out of the Zeta tube, gear in hand. “Honey, I’m home,” he called cheerily into the kitchen and living area over the droning of a vacuum cleaner. M’gann turned it off and spun around, smiling.

“Hey, Wally” she said, immediately floating over to the freezer and handing him a frozen treat.

“Aw, it’s like you read my mind, beautiful.” He crooned, leaning an arm on her shoulder and sucking the treat gratefully. She pushed his arm off playfully, shaking her head in exasperation.

“Since you’re here, mind taking out those piles of junk?” She asked, pointing to a small mound of trash bags to the corner.

Wally groaned, but grabbed an armful. “M’gann, come _on_ , it’s our day off. Less cleaning more beaching!”

She laughed. “Exactly, Wally. We never have time to do this other than on our days off, and trust me it really needs to be done. The others aren’t even here yet, anyway, it’s just Kal and I.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Wally said, waving the hand holding the popsicle around in concession and adjusting the bag in the crook of his arm. “Be right back then.”

As he rounded the corner he heard the whirr of the Zetas.

_Recognize: Superboy, B04. Wolf, C02._

Wally grinned. “Aha, perfect timing,” he called out, speeding over and dumping the bag of junk into Connor’s hands. “Now you can do all the lifting while I go out and soak up the—oof,” Wally huffed, as Connor tossed the bag back into Wally’s stomach.

“Yeah, nice try.” Connor said, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. “M’gann already has a job for me to do. And I’m going out to cool off first.”

“Dude come on, why do you get to swim?”

He lifted his hands, shrugging. “My house, my rules?”

“Tch, yeah right. More like boyfriend privileges,” Wally huffed.

“That too.” Connor said, the smile spreading on his face as he glanced in the general direction of the sound of vacuuming. Wally rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, you better hurry up before Nightwing and the kids get here,” Connor added, “or M’gann will just keep giving you more chores to do.”

“Pbbth, please,” Wally snorted, striking a regal pose, “You’re looking at _the King_ of hurrying up, remember?”

“You had best be going then,” Kaldur spoke up behind him, also carrying trash bags and trailed by a sleepy looking Garfield, “because the team should be assembled in about ten minutes.”

_Recognize: Nightwing, B01. Red Arrow B06. Artemis B07. Red Hood, B13. Batgirl B16. Bumblebee B17. Lagoon Boy, B18. Robin B20. Wonder Girl B22. Authorized guest, Mal Duncan, A10._

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Wally murmured to Kal as he zipped past with the last bundle of stuff they were getting rid of so far. “Got nearly the whole crew.”

“Well, it is a good day to spend at the beach.” Kaldur smiled.

“Yeah it is!” Karen beamed, “And no crowds to contend with here. Now are we gonna get this started, or what?”

“Indeed,” Kaldur crossed his arms, falling naturally into what Wally had dubbed his “leader stance” and cleared his throat. “Lagoon Boy, Red Hood, Beast Boy, Robin, Wonder Girl, you are Alpha.” He smiled. “Just head outside to the beach and have a good time.” The Team chuckled. “Nightwing, Kid Flash, Artemis, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Duncan, you are Beta,” He continued, “Watch Alpha and keep them out of trouble.” _Oh boy, good luck,_ M’gann said telepathically to Wally as they exchanged an amused glance. “Miss Martian, Superboy, Red Arrow, you are Gamma. You will help finish cleaning out the Cave, and then join the others at your leisure. Any questions?”

“Babs, can I have a popsicle now? Please?” Cassie begged quietly. Barbara shushed her.

Kaldur smiled softly. “Popsicles are in the freezer. All of you feel free to take however many you would like. Anyone else?” He paused. “Then you are dismissed,” he finished, shooing them all out.

Outside, Wally lounged under an umbrella, enjoying the sea breeze and watching La’gaan help Tim and Gar make a sandcastle meant to look like Aquaman’s Palace in Atlantis. Karen and Mal sat on a blanket a few feet to the side and in front of his spot, Karen trying vainly to wrestle some sunscreen on a wriggling Cassie. He watched, amused.

“ _Bee_ I’m wearing plenty! I want to swim!” she complained.

“Uh huh, right. I saw how much you put on earlier and trust me, baby girl, that’s not enough. Superheroes get sunburns, too, you know.”

“Mal, tell your girlfriend to quit it!” Cassie whined, Karen rubbing her back vigorously.

Mal chuckled. “Karen’s a scientist, Cass, she knows what she’s sayin’. Besides, a little extra UV protection won’t kill you.”

Over in the water, Barbara and Artemis were floating peacefully on blow-up rafts, Jason periodically trying and failing to flip them over. Wally smiled, feeling at home. They’d needed this.

“You look content,” A voice murmured, warm and breathy, in his ear. Wally started, looking over his shoulder at a smirking Dick Grayson.

“Do you _always_ have to do the ninja thing?” Wally ribbed him. Dick cackled softly, plunking himself down beside him on the blanket.

“Oh please, like you don’t love being surprised,” Dick said, teasingly knocking Wally’s bare shoulder with his.

Wally snorted. “Oh yeah? Is that how you’re going to try to justify the little _surprise_ Artemis hit me with this morning?”

“Now what makes you think I had anything to do with it?” Dick asked innocently, biting his lip to keep himself from laughing again. Wally gave him a withering look. Dick flashed him his most winning smile, eyes surely glinting under his sunglasses.

“Aw, don’t be mad KF,” he cooed. “Can’t a guy be proud of his best friend for landing a new job?”

“So proud that he had to send picture proof to the only other person as hell-bent on being a pain in my ass as he is?” Wally rolled his eyes, pointing accusatorily.

“Come on Walls,” Dick said, slinging an arm over Wally’s shoulders “Had to share my discovery with _someone_. And who better than your lovely college roomie?”

Wally grabbed Dick’s arm, wrapping it behind his back, and shoving him into a headlock. “You’re so gonna get it for this Grayson,” Wally growled. Dick laughed, twisting lithely, and with infuriating ease, out of Wally’s hold, then scooting behind Wally to pin both his arms back with a vice-like grip. _Since when had he gotten this strong?_ Wally wondered vaguely. Dick took his distracted hesitation as an indication of surrender and laughed again, pressing his sun-warmed chest against Wally’s arms to keep them trapped there and hugging him from behind, resting his chin on Wally’s freckled shoulder.

“You were saying?" he asked deviously, his breath tickling Wally’s ear again. Wally gulped.

“Look, the world is _not_ ready to know that it’s possible to make my fine face look bad,” Wally griped, refusing to let the close contact distract him further. “I will get that picture deleted forever.”

“Oh, will you?” Dick raised an eyebrow, amused. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Don’t make me bring Tim into this.” Wally threatened, twisting his head around, “He may be young, but it’s no secret anymore that he’s already an even better hacker than you.”

“Owch, bringing in the baby brother. How will I ever recover from such a low blow?” Dick said, letting Wally go and falling melodramatically onto his back, miming rubbing his hurt pride.

A high-pitched squeal interrupted them and they both turned to look out at the water, Dick propping himself up on one elbow to see better. Jason had finally managed to flip Barbara’s raft and was making a hasty retreat to land, giggling evilly as Babs threw curses at his back in Atlantean. La’gaan sniggered.

“Neptune’s Beard, Batgirl. Don’t let Aqualad know you’ve got that kind of mouth!” He called over to her.

“Why, ‘cause he’ll blame you?” She called back, standing up to her waist in the water and wringing out her long, red hair. Cassie giggled. Jason ran up the beach and panted, hiding behind the huge sandcastle and high-fiving Tim.

Dick snorted, lying back again and closing his eyes. “Think I can get away with pretending I didn’t see that?” he asked.

“No way.” Wally grinned. “And even if you did, Babs would still want you to give Jason a smack down later.”

Dick sighed. “Well, so much for keeping Alpha out of trouble.” Wally chuckled, watching as Jason goaded La’gaan next.

“Ha please, fish boy, I’d beat you at chicken any day!” Jason drawled confidently.

“Fine, you’re on, minnow!” La’gaan smiled, standing over him challengingly. The two boys turned toward the lounging Beta squad. They all groaned.

“I’ll do it,” Mal sighed. “Come on La’gaan.”

Dick sighed as well. “Guess that means I’m up too,” he said, joining Jason.

The four of them made their way to the water, Dick hoisting Jason onto his shoulders, and Mal hoisting La’gaan. Wally watched from the blanket as they adjusted, ready to wrestle. Mal grunted, “Ready, set, go!” The two younger boys went at it, grabbing each other’s arms and trying to get the upper hand. Jason was fast, but L’gann was stronger, the latter maneuvering until Jason was _just_ off balance, then _splash!_ It was already over. Dick laughed as Jason spluttered. “Good try JT, but guess you have to work on your balance.”

Jason’s eyes shot daggers at the older boy. “Yeah, right! You just weren’t supporting me good enough! I would’ve taken him if it weren’t for you!”

“Oh-ho,” Dick taunted, hands on his hips, “Bit of a sore loser huh? Fine then, have Wally hold you up this time.”

“Aw _dude_ ” Wally complained. “Why are you dragging _me_ into this?”

“Fine,” Jason harrumphed, “Come here, KF!”

Wally rolled his eyes, making his way over to the water and giving Dick a ‘you’re-so-making-this-up-to-me-later’ face. Dick just smirked as he shook the water from his hair and sat on the sand to watch.

It was over just as quickly as the first round. Wally did his best to follow Jason’s movements, but the young boy was erratic and was soon knocked off Wally’s shoulders into the sea by a triumphant La’gaan. “Better luck next time, minnow.” He mocked, hopping off Mal’s shoulders and making his way back to Tim and Garfield.

Jason seethed as Dick tried to hide his laugh behind his hand. “You tried, little wing.” Dick said, amused.

“Yeah, well,” Jason spluttered, “his main thing is the water. I’d be able to beat anyone else no sweat, obviously. I bet I could even beat you, if I wanted,” he added, pointing his chin at Dick challengingly.

Dick’s smile widened. “Right, like that’d be a fair fight. I’ve got two years and far more experience on my side.”

“So what?” Jason shrugged haughtily, “I could still take you. Unless you’re too _scared_ to try.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine, if it’ll shut you up for a while.” He conceded, walking over to Wally. “I’ll take the speedster, you take Mal.”

“Fine by me,” Jason grinned wickedly, pumping his fist in the air, “Get ready to get wrecked!”

Wally crouched down so Dick could climb limberly onto his shoulders, then rose up again, lightly holding Dick in place. As Mal started the countdown, Wally could feel Dick shifting and adjusted accordingly, hardly having to think about it. After so many years in battle together, their bodies responded to each other’s movements naturally, completely in tune. “Ready, set, go!” Mal shouted, and Dick and Jason began.

Immediately, Wally could tell Dick was toying with the younger boy. He stance was still mostly relaxed and he swatted away Jason’s grabby hands with ease. Wally stepped closer to Mal to allow Dick a better reach, but he didn’t bother taking it. Jason’s body swept left, right, and center, trying to catch Dick off guard and charge him, but to no avail. It was only after about thirty-seconds or so that Wally felt Dick’s legs grip him more tightly as he prepared to strike. He tightened his hold on Dick’s thighs and braced himself for Dick to launch. Dick lunged, and Jason didn’t stand a chance, tumbling once again into the salty water below as Dick cackled. Mal hid a smile as well as a red-faced Jason emerged from beneath the water for the third time, scowling deeply.

Dick leaned forward, resting his arms on Wally’s head. Wally looked up—noticing Dick’s dark hair gleaming in the sun as he laughed—and smiled. He had expected Dick to hop down immediately, but he didn’t. _Gloating,_ Wally thought. Or was he? After a moment, some part of his brain registered how high up his hands were on Dick’s thighs and he quickly loosened his grip, letting his hands drop to his sides, and crouching down a bit so Dick could more easily get down. Dick slid off slowly as Jason stalked out of the water, fuming and muttering to himself.

Wally and Dick walked back up the sand to Wally’s umbrella, side by side. “Man, who knew Batman would be able to find another bat brat who’s even more of a mischief-maker than you?” Wally said, sitting facing the ocean and toweling off his hair.

“Yeah, makes our newest Robin look even more innocent in comparison,” Dick chuckled, flopping down on Wally’s left on the blanket, beads of water still dotting his chest.

“Mm,” Wally agreed looking away towards Tim and the sandcastle he was still meticulously shaping, Garfield packing the sand down with his tail as Tim worked. “He’s a good kid. Still so quiet though.”

Dick shrugged. “Alfred says he has no problem speaking up at home. He’ll open up eventually.” Dick yawned, flipping around until he was facing away from the water and lying down, his stomach level with Wally’s knees. “He says hello, by the way.” He added, stretching. “Wants to know when I’ll be bringing you by for dinner again.”

Wally smiled. “Guess it’s been awhile, huh?”

“Only a month. I think he’s just still annoyed with me for moving out.”

“I’m still shocked they let you,” Wally admitted.

“Yeah, I don’t think they really meant to. They probably assumed that if they let me go, I’d immediately see that I was in over my head, or get sick of it, and come home. Kind of like letting a little kid try coffee for the first time or something, knowing they’d hate it,” Dick snorted. “Only, it’s worked out great for me so far, so now they’re annoyed.”

“Mmm, never underestimate a Robin,” Wally murmured, watching as Tim paused in his work to move over and sit shyly next to a grumpy Jason, squeezing the older boy’s forearm reassuringly. Jason appeared to ignore him, staring off toward where Artemis was still floating, but then adjusted his hand so it was lightly gripping Tim’s. He heard Artemis laugh in the distance as Cassie flew up into the air and did a massive cannonball, soaking everyone in the vicinity, then watched as Artemis got out of the water to walk over to Karen, who handed her a towel. As she passed, she glanced between him and Dick and threw him a knowing smirk not unlike the one he’d given her when teasing her about Zee that morning.

“Oh,” Wally exclaimed, smiling, “that reminds me…” he trailed off, planting an arm in the sand on the other side of Dick and leaning over him, “I had a message I was supposed to give you, too.”

Dick raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips tugging up at the glint in Wally’s eyes. “Oh really?” Dick asked silkily “And what would that—mmph,“ Wally cut him off, closing the distance and planting a brief kiss squarely on his mouth. He could just barely taste the salt on Dick’s lips from the seawater and resisted lingering there, instead leaning back and laughing at the pure shock on Dick’s, now quite pink, face.

“Zatanna sends her best,” Wally explained, looking smug. “She swung by the apartment this morning.”

Dick blinked a couple of times, recomposing himself. Wally smiled inwardly; seeing Dick caught off guard was a rarity. Dick cleared his throat, a small smile spreading over his face. “You call that her best?” He joked shakily, readjusting his sunglasses. “You’re going to need to work on your delivery, West.”

“Hey!” Wally cried, chuckling and flicking Dick’s nose. “Not my fault that’s all she gave you.”

Dick snorted. “As the one who dated her for six months, trust me, ‘quick’ and ‘closed lipped’ are not in her kissing vocabulary.”

“To be fair, we had an…audience, at the time,” Wally justified, glancing up in Artemis’ general direction.

“Excuses, excuses,” Dick said, waving a hand. “Still sounds to me,” he started, propping himself up until their faces were level, and tilting his head toward Wally with the ghost of a smirk “like you’re holding out on me.”

Wally smiled smugly again, hearing the hint of seduction in Dick’s voice usually reserved for the parade of potential dates Dick always seemed to have now. Dick was still confined under Wally’s arm, his collarbones brushing lightly against Wally’s shoulder. Their faces were close enough for Wally to see a trace of Dick’s eyes through the dark lenses, and he thought fleetingly that it shouldn’t be so hard not to stare.

“Man, one peck and you’re already laying on the patent-pending ‘Dick Grayson Charm,’ and begging for more, huh?” He teased, leaning in slightly despite himself. “Got a bit of a weakness for me, Boy Wonder?”

Dick’s smile faltered slightly as he blushed, a rare glimpse of the vulnerability and doubt he tried so hard to hide peeking through. Wally pulled back an inch, suddenly nervous that maybe he’d crossed a line.

“Hey, I kind of want another popsicle, you want one?” Dick changed the subject with false bravado, scooting out from under Wally’s arm and standing up.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks,” Wally replied lamely. Dick nodded and walked back toward the Cave, Wally staring at his back as he went. He groaned, running a hand across his face.

It had been like this for a few months now. Seemingly out of the blue, their usual easy banter kept giving way to flirting. The intimate friendship they had slowly twisting into something else. Something more charged. But they hadn’t talked about it. Not directly. A part of him kind of enjoyed dancing around it, but it was probably the same part of him that was afraid. Sure, Wally had always known Dick was objectively attractive, would occasionally catch himself thinking he was cute, but had only recently started feeling drawn to him this way. He hadn’t even been able to identify the feeling at first. Dick was his best friend, after all. Of course he loved him and wanted to spend a lot of time with him. Plus, he’d been so convinced that he liked women, he hadn’t even thought about men as an option. But then his mind kept wandering back to the curve of Dick’s lips, the smell of Dick’s hair, and the way Dick’s muscles flexed under his hands as they sparred, and he started questioning himself. As Roy had so eloquently put it one afternoon after Dick left early for a date, puberty had hit Nightwing like a bus, and apparently Wally was far from immune to the changes it had wrought to Dick’s physique. But lately, like now, their teasing had a way of turning awkward, convincing Wally every time that surely Dick wasn’t interested.

He shook his head to clear it, turning his attention back to his teammates. Mal was stretched out on his stomach, napping, while Karen was chatting animatedly about something with Artemis, who laughed perfunctorily. Babs, Cassie, and La’gaan were racing in the water, Cassie occasionally trying to cheat by floating just above the surface, only to be yanked back down by Bab’s quick arm. Jason was chasing a giggling Gar around in circles around the sandcastle.

“Can’t catch me!” Gar shouted.

“We’ll see about that, squirt,” Jason grinned, coming up quickly behind him. They were running in tighter and tighter loops, the sides of their feet now nearly skimming the sandcastle.

“Guys be careful, you’re going to ruin it,“ Tim protested.

“Ha, no way, baby bird, I’m not stopping ‘til Gar’s raising the white fla—ahh!” Jason cried out, accidentally getting too close to Gar and tripping over his tail, smashing right through the side of the sandcastle.

“Ahh—ow!” Gar yelped as well as he, too, face-planted into the beach.

Jason rubbed his head and spat out sand. “Aw crap, are you ok, Gar?”

“Yeah,” Gar replied meekly, crawling to his knees. He looked over his shoulder. “Oh no!” he cried, seeing the wrecked remains of the castle. “Jason, you crushed it!”

“Huh?” Jason looked around him, freezing as he realized what he was sitting in. He glanced, horrified, over at Tim, who was staring dejectedly at his ruined work with his arms crossed. “Shi—oot.” Jason cursed, looking pleadingly at Tim. “Dude, I’m so sorry.”

“Rob told you to be careful,” Gar whined miserably, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Gar?” M’gann flew up behind him, worriedly. “You ok? I heard you yell out on the mind-link.”

“M’fine,” Gar sniffled. Jason got up gingerly, brushing the sand off his shorts and stepping over to Gar, clasping his shoulder.

“Aw, please don’t cry, Gar. I’m really sorry. I’ll help you guys fix it.”

“I’m not crying,” Gar mumbled stubbornly, shrugging his hand off. M’gann smiled and knelt down in front of Gar, pulling him into a hug.

“I know what’ll cheer you up. How about you come help Conner and I pick out a recipe for dinner tonight, hm?” she offered, thumbing away his tears.

Gar’s face rose slightly. “Can we make those crescent roll things?”

“We’ll see what we’ve got.” She smiled. “Oh, and Artemis,” she called over her shoulder. “I found a couple old things that I think might be yours? Wanted to check with you before I got rid of them.”

“I’ll take a look,” Artemis replied, following M’gann and Gar back to the cave.

As soon as they were out of sight, Jason looked sheepishly back at Tim again.

“Guess you can say you told me so?” He said, raising his hands in a shrug. Tim just shot him a bat-squint. Jason sighed, sitting next to him.

“Rob, I’m sorry, really.” Jason said pleadingly, trying to fish out Tim’s hand so he could hold it again. “I know you were working hard on that and you’re right I should have been more careful.” Tim crossed his arms tighter, ignoring Jason’s grasping. “Look, I’ll spend the whole rest of the afternoon fixing it. Or even better I’ll build you one twice as big and then make you a replica of _that_ one when we get home out of those dumb toothpicks Alfred always has a zillion of, and—“

“Ok, ok,” Tim mumbled, looking slightly mollified and getting to his feet. “It’s fine, alright? I forgive you. Quit being so grabby.”

“No, not ‘alright’ ‘cause clearly it’s _not_ fine.” Jason said, standing too. “I’m one-hundred times sorry, ok?” he said, giving up on Tim’s hand and trying to just hug him instead.

“ _Jay,_ cut it out,” Tim wriggled away, getting redder by the second.

“Jason,” Nightwing snapped. Wally turned. Dick was back, in full armor, the eyes of his domino mask narrowing into Nightwing’s characteristic look of disapproval. 

“Whatever it is you’re doing to bother Robin, stop it.”

Wally grinned. While normally intimidating, Dicks’s Nightwing stance didn’t seem quite so threatening when he was holding a brightly colored popsicle in either hand and nibbling on one of them.

“I’m just _trying,_ to apologize,” Jay whined, “But Robin won’t. Stand. Still.” He said, grabbing at Tim with each word until finally managing to capture him into a crushing squeeze for a moment.

“Really, it’s not a big deal.” Tim said, blushing furiously and squirming away.

Dick exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Whatever. I have to head out. Jay, Alfred says be back by 6. Don’t make me regret letting you Zeta by yourselves.”

“Hey, we’re not _kids,_ Wing.” Jason complained. “I’m _thirteen_. You’ve been Zeta-ing by yourself since you were like ten!” Dick waved away his protest, walking back to Wally’s side.

“I thought you had the whole day off.” Wally said, gesturing at the suit.

“Yeah, well, urgent call from Batman,” Dick sighed. “Some big breakthrough on the Joker case, probably. He’s still beyond pissed after…” He trailed off glancing again at Jason, his expression softening. Wally nodded. Jason was a pain in the ass, they all agreed, but he was their pain in the ass, and they’d nearly lost him forever that day.

“Anyway, you get out of work at 9 tomorrow, right?” Dick asked. Wally’s brows arched.

“How do you know my—?” Wally started to ask incredulously before stopping himself, remembering who he was talking to. “Actually never mind, stupid question. Yeah, I get off at 9. Why?”

“Grab us a table at quarter of.” Dick shot him a small smile, handing him both popsicles. “Since I can’t stick around to finish enjoying this one, you owe me dessert.”

“Uh, right. Sure.” Wally blanched as Dick walked away, slightly mortified at the idea of having to hang out with Dick wearing that stupid uniform. Plus what if he took another picture? He’d have to bring a change of clothes.

“Chill, Jay.” Tim said quietly to a still grumbling Jason. “He and Batman are just still freaked about letting you out of their sight.”

“But I’m out of their sight right now!”

“Yeah, but you’re with me. And the Team.”

“Oh, so now they trust the eleven year old more than me? And I don’t need a babysitter.” He huffed.

“I thought you said you liked hanging out with the team?” Tim asked, cocking his head.

“Dude, shh! And _so_ not the point.”

“Oh, just get back in the water and have fun, you dorks,” Artemis said, appearing from behind and ruffling their hair, ignoring their protests. “It is your mission today, after all.”

The boys followed her order, Jason gently pushing Tim’s hair back in place as they walked. She plunked down by a glum looking Wally, snagging the uneaten treat out of his hand. He rolled his eyes.

“Trouble in paradise, Baywatch?” she asked.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” He mumbled, bringing the frozen sweet to his lips and picking up where Dick had left off nibbling.

“Riiight,” she drawled, raspily. “You’re not fooling anyone, Kid Crush. I mean really, I could feel the tension from over there.” She pointed to where she’d be drifting before. “You two have been driving the whole Team nuts, just do something about it already.”

Wally blushed. “Whatever, practice what you preach blondey. I didn’t exactly see you asking Zee out earlier.”

It was Artemis’ turn to flush. “Th-that’s different!” she stuttered, crossing her arms and looking away.

“Riiight,” Wally mimicked. “Besides, we aren’t ‘driving the team nuts.’ No one even knows, let alone has said anything.”

“Kaldur knows.”

Wally’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Ugh, how does he always figure it out first?”

“Roy knows, too.”

“WHAT?” Wally yelped, nearly choking on his food.

She shrugged. “Heard them gossiping about it just now while they were cleaning, in fact.”

Wally groaned. Great, just what he needed. As if this whole thing wasn’t tentative enough already, now the rest of the team was starting to get involved? If he was honest, he didn’t even know what he wanted. Sure, he was attracted to Dick, and yeah, maybe he kind of wanted to know what it’d be like to really kiss him once…but so what? Actually doing something about it would just complicate things, especially once his college classes started up and he had less time to give. And that’s assuming Dick even reciprocated his feelings in the first place, which he wasn’t sure he did.

“Stop moping,” Artemis said, nudging him out of his thoughts. “It’s practically impossible to keep secrets on this team anymore, who cares if they know?”

“It’s not that,” Wally said, not meeting her eye. “I’ve been close with both of them for years, it’s not really that surprising they picked up on…whatever. I just…” He was too embarrassed to tell her.

“Walls,” Artemis turned his head, forcing him look at her. “Trust me. You have nothing to worry about. Bet you twenty bucks it’s mutual.”

“Twenty?” Wally said skeptically. “Yeah right, you never bet more than like, five.”

“No kidding, Kid Oblivious.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s how sure I am. Just be honest with him,” her mouth quirked up gently. “Worked on me once.”

He smiled gently in return, remembering back two years ago to his fumbling confession and the short-lived fling she and him had had in the aftermath of their big New Years kiss. _Hey, look, this probably goes without saying at this point but,_ he’d said rubbing his neck, embarrassed. _I really like you, Artemis, and I don’t—it’s dumb of us to keep pretending that we just…I don’t know. It’s like I want to be around you all the time and it drives me nuts when you’re not there._ She’d laughed lightly, blushing and shyer than he’d ever seen her before. _Who’s pretending? You_ do _still annoy the crap out of me. But…I really like you too, Wally._ It seemed so long ago now. How ironic that back then he’d only had eyes for Artemis and Dick was head-over-heels for Zatanna. Now look at them all.

“Yeah, guess so.” He said lightly, nudging her knee with his own, “Thanks, ‘Mis.”

“Anytime,” she said, squeezing his leg before getting up to rejoin Karen, who was waving her over.

Behind him, Wally could just make out the sound of bickering voices approaching. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kal and Roy.

“Look, Kaldur, I’m whelmed by all your henpecking, but I don’t want or need it.” Roy said bluntly. “I told you, I found a new lead yesterday. A good one. I don’t have time to just sit around and play nice with the kiddies.”

“And as I have told _you,_ ” Kaldur said with strained patience, “while being all-consumed with your searching you have been neglecting your own health. Roy, you must slow down. You can spare one afternoon.”

“ _My_ health is just fine, thanks. It’s Speedy’s health I’m worried about, and slowing down now would be the opposite of helpful. If anything, I need to move faster before this lead dries up and we hit a dead end _again,_ ” Roy said harshly.

“Roy, please,” Kaldur insisted, placing a hand firmly where Roy’s shoulder met his neck. “If you will not do this for yourself, then do so for me. Regardless of your claims, I am not blind to the strain you are putting your body through. I would feel better having seen with my own eyes that you have rested.” Roy deflated slightly under Kaldur’s touch, unable to meet his eyes.

“Fine.” He muttered. “But three hours max. I’m not wasting the whole day.”

“It is a start,” Kal said, smiling softly.

The two walked together toward Wally, who waved and patted a spot on the blanket next to him to suggest they join him. When they reached him, Roy slumped onto the blanket next to Wally, on his right. He lay back without greeting and closed his eyes. Wally smirked.

“Hello to you too, Red.”

“Can it, West. If I have to relax, that definitely involves not listening to your big mouth. Or talking to either of you in general.” Roy said candidly. Wally laughed.

Kaldur grasped Wally’s shoulder affectionately in greeting, grabbing a seat on his left. “Ignore him, he is just grouchy because I did not let him take more of our outdated weapons home.”

“Hey,” Roy protested, “Just because you don’t need them anymore doesn’t make them less useful. All I’m saying is it’s better I take them than you just trashing them.”

“I thought you weren’t talking to us,” Wally teased. Roy elbowed him.

“I’m not. So, if you need me,” Roy said, putting in headphones, “Don’t bother, ‘cause it can wait.” Wally and Kaldur chuckled.


	2. Taco 'Bout It

Wally fidgeted by one of the waiter stations, trying hard not to tug at the teal tie around his neck. It was 8:30. Dick would be at the restaurant in fifteen minutes, and he hadn’t had a chance to change out of his embarrassing get up yet. The restaurant was a popular new chain that had an aesthetic similar to a 50s diner, but served a huge assortment of Mexican food. Well, Americanized Mexican food anyway. Wally had been to Mexico, this stuff paled in comparison. It was a weird combination of styles, but the place seemed to be doing pretty well and they’d hired Wally on the spot when he came in looking for a job application, so there was that. The main downside, however, were the uniforms.

The bright yellow polo plastered with little tacos wasn’t that big of a deal (after all, yellow _was_ his color). Neither were the too-tight black pants or the equally stifling teal tie. The huge, magenta, taco-shaped hat though? Not a good look for a redhead. And to make matters worse, if people came in for someone’s birthday, it always ended up falling to _him_ to don a giant, embarrassing taco suit and deliver the free dessert. While singing. Which, of course, had been what Dick had snapped a picture of him in.

He sighed. He’d thought it wouldn’t matter if he had to wear the thing, considering no one he knew expected him to be in Central City as a civvie anymore now that he’d moved to California, but of course that hadn’t stopped Dick from finding him. He and Batman meant well, but they were invasively over the top about keeping tabs on everyone. It was easy enough to just laugh at himself and own it around his co-workers, but the team? No way. He was positive they’d take something as small and silly as this and make sure he never lived it down. 

He glanced at the booth he’d asked the hostess to set aside for him. Wally still wasn’t sure what Dick was up to, but it was definitely something. It wasn’t that Dick wasn’t supportive, but taking the time to stop by one of their friends’ jobs or sports or whatever was usually his or Kal’s thing, not Dick’s. Sure, it could just be an excuse for him to poke fun at Wally some more, but he knew Dick too well. If he had a gut feeling that Dick had something up his sleeve, 9/10 times he was right.

He walked back behind the counter as his last customers filed out, smiling and bidding them all a good evening before scooping up the checks and starting to clear the tables alongside the bus-boys. Wally was always careful about not using his superspeed as a civvie, but it didn’t hurt to use his powers to his advantage a _little bit_ to make the whole process more efficient. No one had ever noticed, they just thought he was being a stellar employee. With that done, the restaurant was nearly empty. He made his way over to one of his co-workers, an older women and veteran waitress, Luciana.

“Who else is closing tonight besides us, again?” Wally asked her, counting out his tips before putting them into the larger pool with everyone else’s.

“Still you, me, and Donny, honey” she answered patiently, gesturing with her chin to another one of their co-workers across the restaurant. “And that’s the third time you’ve asked me. What’s got you so flustered today, hm?”

Wally blushed. “Oh, sorry. It’s nothing, I just have a friend visiting for a few minutes at the end of the shift, so mind if I get started on all that little early?”

“A friend, huh?” She smiled, raising an eyebrow. “Must be an awfully pretty one to get you so worked up.”

Wally laughed. “I mean,” he struck a ridiculous pose, “not as handsome as me, especially in this flattering thing, but he tries.”

She laughed. “Well don’t worry about it, it’s been a slow night. Just check in with me before Donny and I leave.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind--” He cut himself off as Luciana pointed behind him. He turned. Dick had arrived, his eyes hidden behind the usual black sunglasses, and was smiling coyly at the hostess who flusteredly walked him over to the booth. “Aw, damn it,” Wally cursed under his breath. “If he asks, tell him I’ll be right back,” he said to Luciana, trying hard to rush away at a normal human speed before Dick spotted him.

Wally came back a minute later dressed in far less blackmail-worthy clothing. Dick was sitting slightly sideways, wedged comfortably into the corner of the booth where it met the wall and leaning casually on his arm. It looked like he’d just come from a Wayne function of some kind--his white dress shirt and sharp black pants were far too well ironed to have come from anyone but Alfred. His sunglasses were pushed up on his head, his pretty baby blues on display for once. He probably assumed there were few enough people around that it didn’t matter if someone recognized him as Dick Grayson. Plus, unlike the rest of the team, Dick’s secret ID was no secret to Wally. He’d forgone his tie as well (probably ditched in the car the moment he left), undone the first two buttons on the shirt and rolled the sleeves up above his forearms already, getting comfortable. He’d never enjoyed getting dressed up much, and Wally suspected the only reason he still showed up at Wayne Foundation events at all was as an excuse to keep Jason and Tim company. Wally glanced back at the hostess, who kept sneaking peeks at Dick as she moved about. Wally chuckled to himself, he couldn’t blame her. Dick seemed to have been staring off into space, but perked up when Wally slid into the booth, across from him.

“Hey, hope you saved room ‘cause we’ve got a _lot_ of churros headed our way.” Wally grinned. “Or actually, kind of hope you didn’t so I can have them all.” 

“Aw, what you’re not serving them yourself?” Dick teased, “ _And_ I’m not special enough to merit the taco tuxedo? The team will be so disappointed when they get here,” Wally paled, and Dick cackled at Wally’s horrified expression.

“ _Dude,_ not funny! Don’t even think about it.” Wally said, tossing a straw wrapper at Dick’s head. He dodged easily, smirking.

“Whoa hey, now a waiter is attacking me?” Dick said in mock horror. “Sheesh, so much for giving this place good review on Yelp.”

Wally rolled his eyes. “Are you just going to make fun of me and take advantage of my employee discount, or are you going to tell me why you’re actually here?”

“Mostly the first part,” Dick smirked, “But who says I have an ulterior motive? Is it so weird to just want to enjoy some food and banter with my best friend?”

Wally eyed him skeptically. “If all you wanted was to hang out, you would’ve just invited me to your place. Spill.”

“Fine, fine.” Dick sighed, with something like nervousness crossing his face. “I thought we should talk,” he started, but he paused as he met Wally’s eye.

Footsteps approached them, and Luciana placed the huge platter of delicious cinnamony dessert in front of them. “Thanks, Lu,” Wally said.

“Sure thing, honey.” She glanced at Dick, giving him a once over, then smirked at Wally. “Enjoy,” she added, giving Wally a not-so-subtle, knowing wink. He gave the briefest of eyerolls back, but felt the heat rushing to his face again. Dick raised an eyebrow. Wally said nothing, picking up a churro and dipping it in the warm chocolate sauce. Why did his co-workers have to be nearly as nosey and interfering as the team? Even without looking, Wally could feel the bat-squint. He ignored it.

“You were saying?” Wally prompted.

“Yeah,” Dick turned his head away again, seeming to change his mind about something. His expression grew serious. “Actually, I mainly wanted to see if I could get your help with a...situation that’s cropped up. There was someone at the WF function I was at tonight who wasn’t originally on the list. Their name just ‘appeared’ yesterday, which was what B called me in for. I tailed them around the party tonight, and they were asking a lot of questions about Batman and JT.”

Wally frowned. “Any idea who it was?”

Dick shook his head. “None of the usual suspects, as far as I could tell. Probably some expendable spy-for-hire sent to gather intel, but for what I’m not sure.”

Wally’s eyes darkened. “So they all know about Jason now, huh?” Dick shrugged, but Wally noticed the tenseness in his shoulders.

“The Joker wasn’t exactly quiet about him after the incident. The problem is, I think they all think Jason is still Robin--”

“Which would put Tim right in their crosshairs,” Wally finished for him, frowning.

“Exactly,” Dick sighed. “Not many people outside the team have seen our new Robin in action or know a new Red Hood exists. They just assume that Jay returned to the dynamic duo after being benched for a while.”

Wally snorted. “But JT and Rob’s fighting styles are the total opposite of each other. They really don’t think it’s weird he suddenly shrunk and learned how to use a bo staff? I mean, not that it’s a problem that some of the villains are idiots, but really?”

Dick shrugged. “People see what they want to see. I wouldn’t think someone named ‘Red Hood’ was a former Robin either, if I were them, no matter how signature Jay’s fighting style is. After all, why would a Robin take on a name only ever associated with criminals? They don’t know it’s to spite Joker,” Dick frowned. “The point is, I need eyes on both of them. Robin is good, but he’s still inexperienced. And Jason is just reckless. If tracking down current and former Robins is a new thing for the bad guys now, I don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to jump them while they’re alone. Not again.”

Dick’s clenched fist twitched on the table. Wally put down the dessert and clasped Dick’s forearm reassuringly. “Hey, stop blaming yourself.” Wally said, gentle but firm. “Everyone is watching their backs now, ok? And yeah, of course I’ll help keep an eye on them with you.”

Dick sighed and relaxed his hand. “I know. And thanks. They’re at the mansion tonight and I made them both promise to stay there, but I may need some help tomorrow. Until we figure out for sure who’s targeting them, whether it’s the Joker again or someone else, I want to be on high alert.”

“Sure,” Wally nodded. “We could take them somewhere in the afternoon, if you want. None of us are on team patrol shifts until later in the week, right?”

“Oh, hmm.” Dick murmured, looking surprised. “Yeah, sure, if it’s a slow afternoon we could take them somewhere.” he agreed, contemplating the idea.

“Wow, let me guess. You’d only thought of tailing them in secret,” Wally smirked. “Typical.”

Dick shrugged sheepishly, nibbling on a churro. “Blame Batman,” he mumbled. Wally shook his head exasperatedly. From around the corner, he heard a voice calling his name. He glanced at Dick’s watch.

“They probably want me to officially finish up for the day.” Wally said. “Be right back.”

Wally returned a few minutes later, timed out and carrying a to-go box for the few remaining churros. Dick was missing from the booth. Wally glanced around and saw him outside leaning his back against the window. Dick glanced behind him and caught Wally’s look, smiling. He was waiting for him, probably not wanting to be rude by sticking around inside while they’d started closing the place up. Wally cleaned and packed up quickly, then stepped out to join him.

“Headed back to Bludhaven?” Wally asked, tucking the to-go box under his arm.

“In a bit,” Dick said, rubbing his neck. “But first there was actually...something else. That I wanted to talk to you about.” Wally’s pulse quickened. Uh oh. What was that tone of voice?

“Ok,” Wally said carefully, crossing his arms. “What’s up?” Dick didn’t answer right away, shifting against the window, crossing his arms as well, and looking directly into Wally’s eyes. He was falling into a Kal-esque stance. He only ever did that when he was afraid that someone wasn’t going to take him seriously. Wally’s gut twisted nervously, and he waited, the time probably seeming longer than it was--he often lost track. It was subtle, but Wally could swear Dick was steeling himself. Finally, he spoke up.

“So, the beach yesterday,” he started, expression carefully blank. Wally’s stomach dropped. He tightened his arms, stopping himself from fidgeting. Dick continued. “I’ve...been thinking a lot. Mostly about, you know, Zee’s message--I mean!” Dick scrambled, “Not actually about _her,_ but uh,” he paused, eyes wide, losing his composure for a moment. It was hard to tell in the dark, but his cheeks seemed to be getting redder. Wally’s chest constricted. He was torn between feeling mortified about the direction this conversation might be going, and laughing at Dick ‘I’m so smooth now’ Grayson having so much trouble articulating himself. Wally sighed, rubbing his neck.

“Oh, right, duh.” Wally tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “Sorry, dude, it was a stupid thing for me to do. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant.” Dick said earnestly. “I just...this isn’t exactly new, Walls, we’ve been,” Dick paused, running a hand through his hair, then started again. “I just mean that, we’re best friends, KF. It’s ridiculous that we haven’t talked about this yet. _Any_ of it.”

They stood in silence for a moment. Wally’s tongue felt dry, and for once he couldn’t seem to get his mouth to work. The logical side of his brain pointed out that Dick had just asked him to spend time with him the next day, meaning he wasn’t about to do something dramatic like toss Wally and their friendship to the curb, but his heart was hammering. Artemis may have felt sure about what Dick was feeling, but Wally sure as hell didn’t. He cleared his throat.

“Ok.” he said hollowly, forcing the corners of his mouth up. “Well it’s totally fine, dude, if you want to stop acting like...like we have been. Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I really expected...I mean I didn’t exactly have a grand plan here or anything.” he said, shrugging.

“Acting like what?” Dick asked gently, seeing right through Wally’s nonchalance. “Hanging out all the time? Teasing each other? Sharing all our stuff or crashing on each other’s couches? We’ve always done that, Walls. Besides, when did I say anything about stopping? It’s not what we’ve been doing that’s different--well until yesterday I guess.” the corner of his mouth quirked up. “It’s just the way you’ve been looking at me that’s changed.”

Wally felt himself deflate a little. “Ha. That obvious, huh? The way _I_ have. Right,” he said. “But not the way you have.” he added, half question, half statement.

Dick looked at him incredulously for a moment, then snorted, raising a hand and resting his temple on his fingertips. “Man, KF. You’ve _really_ never been observant when it comes to this sort of thing, have you?” he chuckled.

“I--what?” Wally stared in complete confusion, dropping the defensive stance he hadn’t realized he’d shifted into.

Wally’s expression just made Dick laugh harder. “I’ve looked at you this way plenty of times before too, Kid Idiot, so yeah not really a ‘change’ on my end.” he said, looking at Wally exasperatedly. “Just because you didn’t get with the program until I grew into a suit that showed off my ass better doesn’t mean _I_ never entertained the idea of us together in the past.” Heat rushed to Wally’s ears.

“To be fair, it took a while for you to actually grow into that ass in general, not just into the suit.” He quipped without thinking, crossing his arms again and looking away. And then Dick’s statement actually processed. “Wait, before? Too?”

“Yeah, Walls.” Dick rolled his eyes, smiling. “Off and on before, and now.” He flicked Wally’s forehead. Wally flinched.

“Hey! What was that for?” Wally protested.

“To get the gears turning a little faster. Or are you purposely leaving me in the dark about whether you actually do like me back?” Dick chastised.

“Oh,” Wally smiled, embarrassed. Wally West could never remember a time where he’d been shy, but _first time for everything I guess,_ he thought. “Yeah, duh.” He mumbled, chuckling nervously. Dick visibly relaxed and broke out his huge signature grin.

“Well, good,” he said, pushing himself off the window and taking a step closer to Wally. “In that case, now that that’s out of the way, movie night? I just got that remake we missed in theaters a few months ago that we’d wanted to see.”

“Uh, sure, I’m down.” Wally said automatically, falling into step with Dick as they started walking away from the restaurant.

It took a moment to truly register what had just happened. Dick actually liked him back? Like, romantically? He was half-convinced he’d misunderstood. Did that mean hanging out at Dick’s place would be different from now on? Wait, did this movie night qualify as a date? Was he _dating_ Dick Grayson? _Oh god, what the hell am I doing?_ Wally panicked. His nervousness eased, however, the longer he and Dick walked shoulder to shoulder along the city streets to the nearest Zeta tube, Dick grinning like an idiot the entire time. _Dork,_ Wally smiled.


	3. Movie Night

“Sorry about the mess,” Dick said sheepishly, flicking on the light and shutting the apartment door behind them.

Like Wally, Dick was still adjusting to his new apartment in Bludhaven. There were still scattered boxes in the corners, some opened and half unpacked, other’s still taped shut. Dirty bowls and mugs were stacked in the sink, making Wally roll his eyes. Dick had other dishware, but he seemed to only ever stock his cupboards with cereal and coffee, so they were rarely used. Some take-out containers were still on the coffee table in the living room. A first aid kit lay open on the edge of a countertop, already running low on supplies. Pairs of shoes and slippers were piled up at random by the door and in the hallway to Dick’s bedroom, and various clothing items were strewn across the backs of every seat he could see.

“I, uh, haven’t had a lot of energy to clean or unpack in my downtime.” Dick explained, trying to neaten up a little as he padded around.

“Oh yeah, I feel that.” Wally agreed. “Artemis and I have had the same problem. Though I probably have less leftovers,” he teased, speeding the takeout boxes from the living room to the kitchen. “Do you have any ziplock bags or something?”

“Don’t think so. You don’t have to help me clean, Walls.” Dick said guiltily. “Though if you want to eat any of that, help yourself.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Wally said, only grabbing one bite, then shoving the boxes into the fridge and speed washing the dishes. “And I don’t mind. Really I feel like I’m doing Alfred a favor more than you, anyways,”

Dick laughed. “FYI, he’s only come by once and I didn’t let him fuss with anything,” he countered, sidling up to next to Wally and drying all the dishes Wally had rinsed. “Now stop it and go make some popcorn instead so we can get this movie started,” he said, stacking the last bowl in the cabinet and walking back into the living room to search through the mess on the table for the Blu-ray.

Oh, right, the movie. Wally was so distracted by the itch to compensate for Dick’s inability to take care of himself that he’d almost forgotten why they were actually here. He tried hard to keep himself at normal speed this time as he moved about, not wanting to give away the nervousness that was now back full force. _He’s your best friend and we’ve hung out by ourselves a_ million _times before, pull it together._ Wally chided himself, tossing a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

“It’s two and half hours, is that ok?” Dick called from the other room.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t have to get up tomorrow.” He called back. As he waited for the snack to stop popping, he pulled out his phone to let Artemis know he’d be back late.

_WALL-MAN: Hey, prob won’t be back til 1 or 2. Try not to burn the house down while I’m gone._  
_ARTEMIS: no promises! out with someone?_  
_WALL-MAN: Nah, just watching a movie at Dick’s._  
_ARTEMIS: oOoOo! ‘just’ a movie? ;)_  
_WALL-MAN: Yes ‘just!’ ffs, woman._  
_ARTEMIS: boooring. just freaking tell him already and make it a date!_  
_WALL-MAN: Or, better plan: you just freaking shut up about it already_  
_ARTEMIS: wait...he just sent me that dorky heart eyes gifset. you know, the one he sent us when he and Zee started dating? DID you tell him?!_

Wally raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder at Dick who had flung himself onto the couch. One arm rested behind his head, the other hand typing and scrolling away on his phone as he smirked to himself. Wally smiled, blushing and shaking his head exasperatedly.

_WALL-MAN: He /still/ uses that? Dude… *facepalm*_  
_ARTEMIS: that wasn’t a no!!! did you or didn’t you?_

Wally ignored her, stuffing the phone back in his pocket and pouring the popcorn into a bowl. The phone buzzed again. He rolled his eyes, but pulled it out again and opened the message.

_ARTEMIS: …wally._  
_ARTEMIS: Wallace Rudolph West I STG!_  
_ARTEMIS: it’s an iMessage Kid Idiot, it tells me every time you read one of these! answer me, damn it or I’ll ask him instead!_

Wally cringed. Why did Dick have to always immediately update everyone about his romantic life? He had a sinking feeling the whole team would already know before the end of the week. Not that he wanted this--whatever this was--to be a secret, but couldn’t they ease into it at least a _little?_ He sighed, grudgingly answering her back.

_WALL-MAN: Ugh FINE. Yes, ok?! Can we not do this rn??_  
_ARTEMIS: hahahahahahahah omg I KNEW IT!_  
_ARTEMIS: better stop at the ATM on the way home, cuz you owe me $20!_

Wally groaned.

“What is it?” Dick asked, appearing out of nowhere behind him.

“Ahh, what? Nothing!” Wally jumped, nearly dropping his phone. He really wished Dick would stop doing that. Dick looked at him suspiciously.

“Oh? Who’re you texting?”

“No one—I mean, just Artemis. Letting her know I was going to get back late.” Wally stuttered, trying to look innocent and shoving the device out of view.

“Right,” Dick said disbelievingly, glancing down at Wally’s pocket.

“Don’t even think about it,” Wally warned, zipping the phone out of reach as Dick went to grab for it. Dick was fast, but he was no speedster. To Wally’s surprise, however, Dick’s hand crept into his pocket anyway. Wally was a second too late to realize it was a purposeful distraction, as Dick plucked the phone away with his other hand, turning his back to Wally to quickly scroll through his conversation with Artemis.

A smile spread slowly across Dick’s face as he read. “Hey! That’s a _great_ and _classic_ gifset I dug back up for you, thanks very much! So ungrateful.” He tutted.

“Dude, come on, give it back!” Wally protested, reaching around to grab for the phone and ignoring the comment. Dick evaded him, his smile turning into an all out laugh as he reached the last message.

“Wait, you guys made a _bet?_ ” Dick cackled. Wally groaned, embarrassed. “Wow, that’s a decent chunk of change for Artemis to agree to, too,” Dick continued, teasing, as he finally let Wally snatch his phone back. “Guess I’m just that…” he trailed off, the smile sliding off his face. “Wait. You owe _her_ twenty bucks? Meaning, she bet I liked you back, and you bet I didn’t?” He flipped back around to face Wally, his expression changing from shocked to troubled, eyes softening as he met Wally’s panicked gaze.

“What? No, it wasn’t like that!”

“Wally…” Dick said gently.

“Dick, I swear you’re reading this all wrong.” Wally said, waving his hands in denial.

“Am I? Were you really _that_ convinced I didn’t like you?” Dick asked concernedly.

“No!” Wally said quickly. “Or, well, I mean, I had _some_ doubt, sure,” he amended. “But—“ Dick grabbed the back of Wally’s head before he could finish, pulling Wally in and pressing their lips together hard. Wally stared wide-eyed and frozen for a millisecond as he registered Dick’s mouth against his own, then relaxed, closing his eyes and letting his hands settle lightly on Dick’s hips. Dick pulled Wally closer, firmly grasping at Wally’s hair and lightly sucking on Wally’s lower lip, nearly making Wally groan. He quickly lost all sense of time, his world shrinking down until nothing existed beyond the taste of cinnamon and chocolate on Dick’s tongue and Dick’s hold on him. When Dick did finally pull back, Wally felt dazed.

“Convinced now?” Dick asked, amused.

Wally shook his head, wrapping his arms around Dick’s waist and pulling him in until their foreheads were touching. “Nope. Definitely think you need to repeat that argument,” he murmured huskily. Dick smirked.

“Sorry, you’re going to have to work for it if you want more,” Dick teased, pushing away from Wally’s chest and freeing himself. “You can start by bringing over that popcorn so we can get this movie started.” He said over his shoulder as he walked to the TV.

Wally stood rooted to the spot for a moment, still trying to process this turn of events. He wasn’t used to feeling slow on the uptake, but. Well. He shook his head slightly, an incredulous grin spreading over his face. He’d still been reeling over the idea of Dick liking him back, so adding probably the best kiss Wally had ever had on top of that? Too much for even his super speedy brain to handle. Not that he was complaining. He would very, _very_ happily do that again. Preferably as soon as possible. In the meantime, however, Dick was calling impatiently to him again from the other room. Wally forcedly snapped himself out of it, finally obliging by zipping over with the overflowing popcorn bowl.

Dick was perched on the edge of the couch, navigating through the menu. It allowed Wally _just_ enough room to sneak in behind him and plunk himself down, legs crossed and extended, taking up all the room. Dick just smirked, rolling his eyes and scooching back to sit on him, ignoring Wally’s protests as he reached for a handful of popcorn. It was a comfortingly routine thing, their fighting for couch space. He was relieved this didn’t feel so different after all. But then again, while it used to take little to no effort for Wally to get Dick off of him when they were younger, Dick wasn’t a scrawny kid half Wally’s size anymore. Wally struggled, but only managed to scoot Dick over a few inches so that he was in his lap instead of on his stomach. Considering Dick’s smug expression, this hardly seemed like an accident.

“Alright, alright, you win, get off me,” Wally complained, tickling Dick’s ribs to try to get him to jump up. Dick squirmed away slightly, but held his ground with a wily grin at Wally.

“Why would I do that? I’ve got the best seat in the house,” Dick teased, leaning over to place a quick peck on Wally’s nose. Wally flushed, but seeing an opening, hooked an arm around Dick’s neck and yanked him to the side, making him fall onto his back before he’d had a chance to sit back up. Distracted by trying to catch himself before he could fall entirely off the couch, Dick couldn’t react in time before Wally had scooted Dick underneath him, sitting with his knees on either side of him, essentially swapping their places. 

“Wrong, I do.” Wally grinned slyly, reaching for Dick’s hand and bringing it to his lips. Dick chuckled.

“Wow, smooth. Guess my game has been rubbing off on you after all,” Dick teased. “If you don’t mind though, I do actually want to watch this movie. Save the straddling for afterwards.”

Dick broke into an all out cackle at the look on Wally’s face. Wally didn’t even want to imagine how red he was at that moment. He had always talked big growing up, had always been the shameless flirt. When it came to actual relationships though, anyone he’d ever dated had always been surprised at how content he was with easing into things; how doting and sweet he was, always trying to make his partner as comfortable and at ease at all times as possible, regardless of where they were or what they were doing. Artemis had joked that it was the only time he ever found his inner slow mode. This wasn’t just any relationship though. Dick was an entirely different story. The mere fact that they’d been best friends for years meant they’d already, in some ways, been more intimate with one another than anyone else in Wally’s life. It felt ok to go a little faster, but it also meant higher stakes. The last thing Wally felt he should do was rush into this, regardless of how much this felt like a natural pace and progression as he sat there looking at the unabashed fondness in Dick’s sparkling blue eyes. No, they wouldn’t go there yet. He’d take his time enjoying this. Wally rolled his own eyes, trying for his usual bravado.

“You wish, pretty bird,” he teased, getting up so Dick could sit normally.

After a bit of fidgeting, they settled on sitting hip to hip in the middle of the couch, kicking their feet up on the coffee table as they leaned comfortably back into the cushions. As Dick tucked his head into the crook of Wally’s neck and Wally wrapped an arm around Dick’s waist, it struck Wally how such a small increase in their level of cuddliness could translate into such a deeper level of comfort. He chewed his lip to keep from grinning like an idiot, soaking up the combination of warmth, softness, and relaxation that came with having a loved one curled into him, a feeling he hadn’t even realized he’d been missing since his last short-lived relationship ended, as the TV flickered on and the menu screen loaded up. Dick grabbed another handful of popcorn, then said a quick voice command to turn off the main light in the living room. Wally gaped, then snorted.

“Of course even your cheap apartment would be decked out with high end tech underneath. Why am I even a little surprised?” Wally asked.

“Yeah, yeah, perks of being a batkid. Now shhh,” Dick insisted, hushing him with another quick kiss to the side of his mouth. Wally smiled exasperatedly, feeling more confident and at ease as he pressed a kiss to Dick’s forehead as the film started up. Dick relaxed back into him, staring attentively as the opening music set the stage. Wally moved the popcorn bowl to his lap and started shoveling.

It was hard not to be distracted, but Wally had to give the film credit. It was engaging and smart, and it _tried_ to portray a convincing action scenario. But, as Wally expected, they’d barely made it thirty minutes in before Dick was reaching for the remote to pause it with a scowl on his face. While Wally had simply been doing his best to keep shifting his attention back to the screen, rather than think of just how soft the texture of Dick’s hair was, his dark haired detective had been busy dissecting how dumb he thought both the heroes’ and the villain’s plans were. As usual.

“What the hell was that move?” Dick asked, affronted. “How could he not have noticed the look between the General and the double agent in the last scene, she’s obviously playing them all for idiots. I mean do you know how many times I’ve seen Catwoman do that exact same thing, thinking Batman and I wouldn’t notice? This character is a physicist for crying out loud, she could dismantle that thing in under a minute.” Dick ranted. Wally sighed.

“No, _I_ could dismantle it in under a minute. You do know that physicists who aren’t speedsters exist, right?” Wally teased. “And give him a break, he was just keeping up his cover. There’s no way he’d be able to get close unless he’s incognito, remember?”

“Walls, he’s so cognito a blind man could tell who he really was, let alone her,” Dick scoffed. Wally shook his head, smiling and snatching the remote.

“Well If you’re _really_ so disgruntled about it, we could take a break and...do something else,” Wally suggested innocently, brushing Dick’s bangs away from his face. He pointedly kept his gaze diverted from Dick’s mouth, but the longing in his eyes must have showed. Dick smirked.

“You offering to get me gruntled, West?” Dick teased with a wink, wrapping an arm around Wally’s stomach to pull him closer. Wally made a face.

“It sounds way less sexy when you put it like that. And really? Two nonwords in a row?” Wally complained. Dick laughed, reaching for Wally’s hand to lace their fingers together.

“Guess we’ll just have to watch the rest first then,” he said, letting go to unpause the film again.

Wally hadn’t even noticed Dick stealing the remote back as they’d held hands. Tricky little bastard. He squeezed the hollow of Dick’s hip as punishment, making Dick squirm. Dick stuck his tongue out in retaliation, but Wally only smirked, surging forward to trap it in his own mouth and sucking lightly. Dick’s eyes widened as he drew back, sputtering and crinkling his nose in surprise. Wally laughed at his ridiculous expression, earning him a light elbow to the side even as he nuzzled his nose into the hair just above Dick’s ear. Dick nipped the side of Wally’s chin with finality then snuggled into Wally’s side with his head lowered to Wally’s chest, out of reach of the speedster’s wandering lips, to stubbornly go back to watching the movie.

For the remaining hour and half, Wally simply enjoyed the weight of Dick’s head on his chest and the rise and fall of Dick’s breathing beneath his fingertips as the story played out on screen. Wally had trailed his fingers beneath the hem of Dick’s shirt, occasionally traipsing across the muscled skin of Dick’s abdomen, making it flutter. Dick kept the remainder of his commentary about the characters to himself, but still nearly made Wally lose track of some key plot points due to the absentminded drumming of his fingers against Wally’s inner thigh every time he started analyzing something. Dick did, however, call the ending long before it happened and was correct to a T. As usual. As the credits rolled, Wally stretched, his shoulders popping satisfyingly.

“Not bad, glad we finally saw it,” Wally said through a yawn. “What’d you…” he trailed off, turning and noticing the way Dick was looking at him.

A devious hunger had surfaced in Dick’s eyes that made Wally’s stomach bottom out. Dick lifted his feet off the coffee table, tucking them up on the couch as he turned his whole body to face Wally directly. He brought his hands to Wally’s hips, tugging at him in an insistence to do the same, to which Wally quickly complied. Gently, Wally pulled Dick into his lap, heart stuttering as Dick’s lean, muscular legs wrapped around him, and Dick hit him with a kiss so deep that lightning crackled instinctively across Wally’s skin. He fell back, pulling Dick with him as they threaded their fingers into each other’s hair. Time slowed as Wally indulged in prolonging the feeling, using his ability to stretch out the seconds for just a moment to fully enjoy the texture and heat of Dick’s lips before letting himself perceive at normal speed again. His earlier fears about time commitments and unreciprocated feelings melted away under the heat of Dick’s skin beneath his hands as he roamed up under Dick’s shirt, gliding his fingers along Dick’s spine and across his built, acrobatic shoulders. Dick gasped briefly as Wally traced over and around the smattering of his scars, marks now impossible for Wally, with his accelerated healing, to have. Their lips tingled even as Dick slowly pulled away. They met each other’s happy, bewildered gazes.

“Whoa,” Dick smiled. “That was…”

“Electric?” Wally offered smugly, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. Dick groaned at the pun.

“You’re the worst,” Dick said unconvincingly. Wally chuckled, bringing his lips to Dick’s neck, at once intoxicated by the musky scent of cologne Dick had tossed on for the Wayne function earlier. Dick sighed, eyes closing contentedly as he tilted his head, inviting more. As Wally’s mouth traveled up, breath tickling Dick’s ear, Dick turned to trap Wally’s lips with his own again. As they pulled apart, his brow furrowed. “I just realized how annoying it’s going to be that you can give me hickies, but I can’t give them to you,” Dick noted, twirling a finger through the short, red strands at the nape of Wally’s neck. Wally’s green eyes lit up mischievously.

“Huh, interesting. Sounds like you’re suggesting the perfect payback for the picture scandal you’ve been putting me through,” Wally said triumphantly. Dick looked at him warningly.

“Don’t you dare--” Dick threatened, but the words sounded in slow-mo as Wally sat them back up at superspeed and sent Dick toppling onto his back instead, attacking his neck. Dick gasped, clutching at Wally as he sucked hard at Dick’s throbbing pulse, then just above the dip in his collarbone, and finishing up with a triangle of three small bruises on the other side of Dick’s neck. He pulled back, smirking as Dick panted beneath him.

“Screw you, Kid Vampire,” Dick griped.

“Some other time, sure,” Wally grinned, a swooping feeling dashing through his stomach as it started to sink in that he could really have this. Have him. Not only for tonight, but from now on, for as long as they could make it last. Dick rolled his eyes with a lopsided smile.

“You’ve got to at least admit the picture’s hilarious,” Dick chuckled. “Don’t you want any ‘normal’ stories to tell the grandkids?” Wally cringed.

“No, dude, seriously,” Wally whined. “Get. Rid. Of. It.” He said, jabbing Dick’s chest with each word. Dick shrugged exaggeratedly, pushing up so he was sitting upright in Wally’s lap again.

“I don’t know Walls, I’m pretty fond of it. Think you’re going to have to do better than that to convince me.” Dick smirked, tracing his thumb over Wally’s lips. “Though, now I’ve got a pretty great idea as to how.”


End file.
